Chapter 73: The Wall of Despair and Harsh Truths

As the saying goes, honest words are harsh to the ear.

Carnelian knew her actions would be scorned by many.

Yet, she had never imagined such honest words could sting so profoundly.

At this moment, she began to understand why loyal officials in ancient times were so often slain.

And why, after their deaths, emperors frequently regretted their decisions.

The truth was, such words were truly unpleasant to hear.

They stirred an impulse to simply punch the young woman standing before her.

Ordinarily, when confronted by a beautiful young woman, people would at least show some deference.

After all, humans were creatures driven by sight.

But Ink Crystal, standing right there, truly deserved a beating.

However, even if the other party’s words were unbearably harsh, and even if Carnelian could clearly sense their unwavering resolve, she could not yield.

She could not allow Ink Crystal to harm Ye Liuyun.

Which parent under heaven would stand by and watch an outsider hurt their own child?

While extreme cases certainly existed, Carnelian deeply loved her child. She never doubted her affection.

Therefore, even if Ink Crystal was a fellow Magical Girl, she could not allow such a thing to happen.

Crimson flames danced in her palm, her emotions held in check.

“Ink Crystal, step back!”

The flames flickering in Carnelian’s hand emitted such intense heat that the air around them seemed to warp.

Even from a distance, Ink Crystal could feel the scorching intensity within those flames.

Clearly, Magical Girl Carnelian had no desire to exchange many words or argue with Ink Crystal.

If Ink Crystal refused to retreat, that ball of fire would undoubtedly strike her.

Truth be told, while Ink Crystal inwardly believed her defensive capabilities were quite high, whether she could withstand these flames depended entirely on luck.

She felt utterly unsure.

This was Magical Girl Carnelian!

Honestly, in the past, she would have turned and fled immediately!

This was simply not an opponent a junior like Ink Crystal should face.

To battle someone of this caliber, at least three or four Magical Girls would need to fight together.

Alternatively, another Magical Girl equally renowned for invincibility, like Carnelian herself, would be needed as an opponent.

Ink Crystal alone stood no chance of winning. Moreover, behind Carnelian was Ye Liuyun, who was nurturing a monstrous entity.

However, this was actually good news.

Because—

Monsters, generally speaking, lacked intelligence. Only a very select few possessed high intellect.

And the monster Ye Liuyun was nurturing clearly wasn’t one of those highly intelligent types.

As Carnelian held the flames in her hand, the monster seemed to sense the threat emanating from them.

Before Ink Crystal could even utter a word, Carnelian was sent flying, crashing into a nearby building and raising a massive cloud of dust.

The mimosa’s root stems then plunged directly into the dust cloud, repeatedly slamming Carnelian against the ground and through the structures.

“You truly are a filial son, Ye Liuyun!”

Ink Crystal couldn’t help but feel a touch of emotion. Though she had experienced disagreements with her own parents in the past, even during her most rebellious phases, she had never resorted to physical confrontation. A cold war was the most it ever escalated to.

Unlike Ye Liuyun, who was directly stringing up and beating his own mother. He certainly had quite a personality.

She honestly felt a slight urge to record this scene.

However, as a Magical Girl, she naturally couldn’t stand by and watch such events unfold.

This monster, lacking significant intelligence, evidently did not perceive Ink Crystal as a threat.

It instinctively sensed that Carnelian possessed the power to kill it.

Thus, its target had been Carnelian all along, seemingly unconcerned by any attacks from Ink Crystal.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Ink Crystal felt slightly insulted.

But for now, she abandoned any thoughts of launching an attack.

Carnelian seemed quite resilient. Being strung up and beaten didn’t appear to affect her much. She had seemingly endured a beating for quite some time before Ink Crystal even arrived.

Truly worthy of an veteran Magical Girl!

Since the mimosa’s primary target was Carnelian, Ink Crystal decided to let her endure it a little longer.

As long as she wasn’t killed quickly, it wasn’t a major issue.

After all, Carnelian seemed to be enduring it with a strange willingness, suggesting a deep bond between mother and son. Ink Crystal felt it wasn’t her place to interfere.

So, she slowly crouched down, placing both hands on the ground.

“Wall of Despair!”

This was one of Ink Crystal’s newly acquired skills.

It was a purely defensive ability.

But make no mistake, despite its name, the Wall of Despair was actually a wall of Ink Crystal constructed from the power of hope.

Just as its symbolism and essence suggested, the greater the despair, the stronger the Wall of Hope became.

In terms that humans could more easily understand, the stronger the opponent, and the higher their power compared to Ink Crystal, the greater the wall’s strength would be.

It was a manifestation of the saying, ‘the greater the despair, the greater the hope.’

Of course, Magical Girls themselves are a convergence of positive energy, and hope is naturally a form of positive energy.

If a Magical Girl herself is a symbol of hope, then the Wall of Despair’s strength also increases.

At this moment, the mimosa’s strength surpassed Ink Crystal’s, so when Ink Crystal deployed this skill, its power was considerable.

A wall of Ink Crystal spread from the ground, eventually forming a square area with only the top open, and all four sides made of smooth, dark crystal.

It enclosed both the mimosa monster and Carnelian, trapping them within. To escape, the monster would have to leave through the top.

However, considering the monster’s plant-like form, Ink Crystal believed it likely lacked the ability to fly.

“…She shouldn’t blame me, right?”

She gazed at the significantly altered ground.

This skill, without a doubt, could be considered Ink Crystal’s strongest and most effective ability for confronting monsters and villains.

However, Ink Crystal was generally reluctant to use it.

After all, this skill had a scent of burning money.

It could be said that the economic damage caused by the mimosa monster’s emergence for half a day was far less than the damage inflicted by the rising of Ink Crystal’s walls.

But she did this to ensure the safety of ordinary citizens, to guarantee they wouldn’t be harmed in such a struggle.

Human lives were priceless.

Ink Crystal could only console herself with this thought.

Of course, she wasn’t short on money, but causing such widespread damage was not the mark of an excellent Magical Girl.

Carnelian’s situation now became even more precarious.

After all, those walls and ground that easily shattered would, in the process of breaking, absorb a large amount of energy from impacts.

But the hardness of Ink Crystal’s Wall of Despair was currently very high.

Therefore, trapped within the Wall of Despair, Carnelian would have to endure all the damage and energy impacts herself, suffering even greater harm.

Of course, Ink Crystal was a kind person; she couldn’t have done this intentionally.

It was simply that in the choice between protecting the public and protecting a Magical Girl, she had to consider her priorities.

She deeply remembered what her girlfriend, Magical Girl Emerald, had told her.

Ordinary citizens must not be drawn into the disasters caused by monsters and their large-scale destruction.

If anything happened, the Magical Girls would bear the burden!

Ink Crystal honestly asked herself if she possessed that resolve.

So, while this approach might seem a little unfair to Carnelian, it was, after all, a situation the veteran herself had created.

Ink Crystal couldn’t *not* consider the veteran’s feelings.

If Carnelian became desperate and unleashed a massive fire, Ink Crystal would actually be delighted.

Just as Ink Crystal completed the construction of the Wall of Despair and named it ‘Coffin of Despair: Ink Zenith,’ a verdant humanoid shadow arrived.

“Oh ~ Emerald!”

Ink Crystal initially felt a pang of guilt, then immediately adopted a composed and calm expression, warmly greeting Emerald, “I think you should have a way to deal with the monster inside.”

“What exactly is going on here?”

“I saw the one inside during your arena fighting competition. His name was Ye Liuyun. His fighting technique is incredibly powerful.”

“Right now, he’s the one nurturing the large-scale monster inside. Isn’t he Carnelian’s son? Carnelian is fighting him in there, and I can’t intervene, so I could only cordon them off to prevent harm to other citizens.”

Emerald vaguely understood the situation, but she found it incredibly difficult to believe.

After all, Ye Liuyun was a genuinely popular figure in their class. While Emerald had many friends, they paled in comparison to Ye Liuyun’s popularity.

He was someone who could get along harmoniously with anyone.

It was truly hard to imagine him turning into a monster.

“I think that one is a plant-like monster, Emerald. Aren’t you skilled in manipulating life? Do you have specific methods to deal with this kind of monster?”

Emerald looked at Ink Crystal with a hint of exasperation. “I’m telling you—while you say it’s a plant-like monster, its essence is a monster, not a plant. I hope you can understand that point.”

“That thing is a collection of negative energy. What do you expect me to do to a collection of negative energy? I’m just a Magical Girl. Can I even do something like that?”

What she said seemed to make some sense.

“Then are you going to help Carnelian?”

Emerald nodded. “You wait here; I’ll go up and take a look first. Continue maintaining this cage.”

Emerald floated to the top of the Wall of Despair, observed for a moment, then flew down with a strange expression.

Soon after, she was struck by a fireball and fell to the ground.

“So this is why you didn’t act?” She ran over, looking rather disheveled, and stared at Ink Crystal.

“The mother and son are having a heartfelt exchange in there. If we go over, we’ll just get beaten! How can we intervene?”

Emerald’s face was a mask of disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?”

Ink Crystal spread her hands. “If I had told you beforehand, would you have refrained from intervening? Even if I’d told you in advance, you would have definitely gone in for a beating before truly believing my honest words.”

“See? I didn’t have to say anything at all, and you understand the situation now, don’t you?”

“…”

Emerald found it hard to argue.

Because Ink Crystal was right; even if Ink Crystal had told her in advance, she wouldn’t have said, ‘I’ll try it.’

It was safe to say that she wouldn’t have been satisfied without getting hit.

But this person’s words were truly unpleasant to hear.

She felt a slight urge to hit her.